Pzena Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Universal Corporation $UVV

Key Points

• Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Universal Corporation by 45.5% during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 496,979 shares.
• Universal Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 6.2%, to be paid on November 3rd.
• The stock price of Universal Corporation is currently down 1.7%, trading at $52.67, while the 12-month high was $67.33.

Pzena Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) by 45.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 496,979 shares of the company's stock after selling 414,855 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned 2.00% of Universal worth $28,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Universal during the first quarter valued at about $3,927,000. TrueMark Investments LLC raised its position in Universal by 227.0% during the first quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 97,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,449,000 after purchasing an additional 67,481 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Universal by 222.6% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 90,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 62,198 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Universal during the first quarter valued at about $3,241,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in Universal by 19.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 340,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,918,000 after purchasing an additional 55,170 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company's stock.

Universal Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:UVV opened at $52.67 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $54.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.27. Universal Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.40 and a 12-month high of $67.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $593.76 million for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 3.51%.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, October 13th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Universal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UVV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Universal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Universal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Universal to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal news, COO Airton L. Hentschke sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.94, for a total value of $549,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 135,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,423,987.26. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 4,617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total transaction of $245,855.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at $835,918.50. This trade represents a 22.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,417 shares of company stock valued at $943,347 over the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Universal

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.